Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Sells 4,000 Shares of Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) by 26.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,301 shares of the coal producer’s stock after selling 4,000 shares during the quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $153,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BTU. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 167.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 744 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 2,900 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 70.7% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,092 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis purchased a new position in Peabody Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BTU shares. Benchmark dropped their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. B. Riley reduced their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

Peabody Energy stock opened at $14.29 on Wednesday. Peabody Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $9.61 and a 1 year high of $29.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $13.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.94. The company has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.36.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The coal producer reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.20. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 10.05%. The business had revenue of $937.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $976.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 11.19%.

Peabody Energy Profile

Peabody Energy Corporation engages in coal mining business in the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, India, Brazil, Belgium, Chile, France, Indonesia, China, Vietnam, South Korea, Germany, and internationally. The company operates through Seaborne Thermal, Seaborne Metallurgical, Powder River Basin, Other U.S.